A Rough Night
by Trumpeteer34
Summary: Does the Ventriloquist enjoy insanity, or does he really suffer from it?


I do not own Arnold Wesker (the Ventriloquist), Scarface, or Rhino. They all belong to DC Comics. This was written purely for fun.

* * *

"When can ya 'ave the gang together?" Scarface asked, his glass eyes on Rhino.

The massive brute looked up from the newspaper he and the dummy had been studying. His eyes briefly fell on the Ventriloquist.

Arnold Wesker had kept silent as Scarface and Rhino discussed their next heist. His head was slightly bowed and what he was staring at was anyone's guess. He just sat quietly and kept his thoughts to himself, as he usually did whenever the puppet talked business.

Rhino shifted his gaze back to the dummy, who had continued to stare at him, waiting. "I think I can 'ave the boys 'ere within the next two days, boss," the brute responded. "Just need to make a few calls, and it's done."

"Good. Good," Scarface murmured. His glass eyes fell back to the newspaper across the tabletop and he continued talking, going over some of the details of his latest criminal plot.

The large man's attention was focused on the puppet for the first minute, but a movement behind him caught his eye. He looked past Scarface at the Ventriloquist, who had finally moved, gazing over his shoulder at something. The brute's hand slowly went for his handgun as he tried to find what Wesker was looking at, sensing trouble. As hard as he looked, though, he simply couldn't spot anything that looked off.

As an eyebrow unconsciously lifted, Rhino looked back at the puppet master, confused. He saw that Wesker, too, looked a bit confused.

The Ventriloquist slowly faced forward again, an odd look on his face and his brow furrowed. Some of that confusion quickly transformed into surprise when his eyes met with Rhino's. He then quickly looked off, nibbling on his bottom lip nervously.

Scarface had continued on, not taking any notice of what the man behind him was doing.

Rhino blinked, still greatly puzzled, but no longer troubled. His eyes finally went back to Scarface. He was still trying to figure out what the dummy was talking about when he noticed Wesker looking over his shoulder again.

When the small man had started trembling, Rhino leaned forward on the table. "Are you alright, Mr. Ventriloquist?" he finally asked, sounding concerned.

Scarface paused mid-sentence and his glass eyes rolled up to Rhino. When he saw Rhino's gaze fixed on the man beyond him, he grew slightly irritated. He turned and looked at the Ventriloquist.

Wesker hardly heard Rhino's question. He was now visibly trembling uncontrollably. His confusion looked to have been replaced with fright. He drew shaky and rapid breaths.

Rhino rose to his feet, still leaned over the table. "Wesker?!" he called, sounding worried.

The Ventriloquist's eyes shot to the brute for a moment. "I - uh… - I-I-I--" he continued like that, stammering and stuttering so badly his words weren't comprehensible. He paused, slapped his hand down on the table, and looked up at Rhino. "What was the question?!" he blurted out suddenly.

As Rhino drew back at the sudden volume change, Wesker started to look around again. "…Are you--?"

"A ventriloquist?!" Wesker interrupted him loudly. "I throw voices, Rhino, but I'm not throwing _these_ voices!" He shot up to his feet, bringing a startled Scarface up with him, and he began to back away from the table, looking to his left and right frantically. "These voices… These voices… These voices…" he kept repeating.

When his back hit the wall, he let out a squeak and jumped. He continued to shake like mad, but he had fallen silent again. He swallowed the lump in his throat with some difficulty before he began to mumble "these voices" again.

Scarface, somehow still able to function, stared at the puppet master with wide eyes. "Rhino, go get his meds," he ordered without turning.

Rhino didn't move for a moment, standing frozen and staring at the vividly hallucinating man.

"Rhino!" the puppet yelled, finally turning and glaring at the brute. "He's havin' an episode! _Now _would be nice!"

The brute snapped from his frozen state and rushed out of the room in search of the medicine bottle Wesker had received when he had been released from Arkham months ago.

Scarface turned back to Wesker, who had stopped mumbling again. "Youse need to calm down," the dummy told the man.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down…" Wesker repeated softly in a mumble, staring down at the ground with wide eyes.

"Listen to me," Scarface said. When the Ventriloquist's eyes finally rose to the puppet, he continued. "Rhino's gettin' your meds--"

"I-I-I don't n-need medication," Wesker stammered nervously, seemingly getting a brief hold on reality. "I-I don't need it."

"Yeah, ya do," Scarface persisted.

"Found 'em," Rhino announced as he re-entered the room. He moved across the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. As he began approaching the shaking and hallucinating man, he read the label.

"I-I don't need to t-take anything, Rhino," Wesker managed to say. "T-T-There's n-nothing to worry ab-bout. I'm f-_INE!" _He cringed, his eyes slamming shut, and he slid to the ground, now shaking more violently with fear.

Rhino flew across the room and knelt down in front of his boss. "You need to take these," he urged, trying not to sound panicked.

Despite how badly the man was trembling, Rhino was able to see that Wesker was shaking his head. "Wesker, youse _need_ to take 'em."

"I don't w-want the medicine," Wesker flat-out refused, never opening his eyes or lifting his head. "I-I-I d-don't need t-to take them."

"Yes, ya do," Rhino urged.

"No, I don't," the small man shot back. He brought his free arm up and covered his face, drawing his legs up toward his chest all-the-while.

Rhino's eyes slightly narrowed in frustration. He reached over and grabbed Wesker's arm. "Yes, you do--"

Wesker let out another squeak and began to flail his arms, trying to get the massive brute away from him. He seemed to have forgotten that Scarface was still at the end of his arm, for he was now flying around, eyes wide. "Let go! Let go!" the man yelled, turning his head away from Rhino.

One of Scarface's legs hit the glass of water in the brute's hand, sending perhaps half of its contents to the ground. The dummy then collided with Rhino's jaw before he flew off of Wesker's hand and across the room.

Rhino fell back as the puppet landed on the floor a few feet away. He rubbed his jaw where the dummy had hit him before he looked back up at Wesker.

The small man's hands had shot to the sides of his head, just above his ears. He was taking fast and shaky breaths through clenched teeth and he continued to tremble. He had fallen silent again and his eyes had slammed shut again.

The brute stared at him for a moment longer before he swallowed the lump in his throat. He lifted himself back up into his crouching position in front of Wesker. "Arnold," he said softly and gently.

Wesker cringed slightly at the sound of the voice, but slowly looked up at the massive henchman.

Rhino stared into his boss's eyes, his glasses having slid down his nose to where his blue eyes were visible. "I ain't gonna let anythin' get you," he explained quietly and deliberately, "but you need to take the pills."

The Ventriloquist's eyes lingered on Rhino for a second, and then shifted to the ground. He started nibbling nervously on his lip, still trembling tremendously. He drew a few more breaths before he looked back up at the man crouching in front of him. "…ok-kay…" he finally said, his words nearly inaudible.

A soft smile appeared on Rhino's face. He held out the half-empty glass of water and the two pills sitting in his palm.

With shaky hands, Wesker slowly grabbed the pills. It was probably a good thing some of the water had been spilt out of the glass, for the water still in the cup nearly went over the edges with how badly the Ventriloquist was shaking.

It took a minute, but the small man finally swallowed the pills. He handed the glass of water back to Rhino and returned his hands to the sides of his face, his eyes closing once more.

Rhino set the glass down beside him. He then shifted himself to where he was sitting next to the shaking man. He stared down at his boss with worried, though slightly relieved eyes. The medicine would take a few minutes to kick in. "You feelin' any better?"

Wesker hardly moved at the question. He still trembled, though not as violently. His breathing was slowing back to normal. "…I-I-I'm n-not s-s-sure…" he replied after a beat. He opened his eyes to look up at Rhino. "I-I d-d-don't understand w-why--" He gasped and slammed his eyes shut again, his trembling becoming violent again and his breathing becoming rapid once more.

Rhino's eyebrows shot up when he found Wesker unknowingly leaning against him. They fell again into an expression of sadness and worry.

Wesker kind of jumped when he felt an arm wrap around him, his eyes opening and shooting up to the brute. His chaotic mind didn't register that he was leaning against the large man, but he did notice that Rhino had his arm around him in a protective embrace.

Rhino stared off into the room as Wesker's eyes closed again. He felt the small man's tremors beginning to subside as he began to calm down.

"It's just a rough night," Rhino breathed. At times like these, he really did think Arkham was the best place for him. "A rough night…"

* * *

A/N: I had been thinking about what mental disorder Arnold Wesker has a few days ago when I came up with this. In the comics, he seems to be diagnosed as schizophrenic. In the cartoons, though, he is classified as having Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder). I seem to always write Wesker as having DID, so I thought I'd try my hand at writing a schizophrenic Ventriloquist.

I honestly don't think any of the Batman villains with serious mental disorders always enjoy being the way they are. I would think that they would have some rough times at some points.

...I always feel bad after writing scenes with hallucinating people. I feel worse after finishing this because it's Arnie.


End file.
